On the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, central California, near the town of Coalinga, outcrops of the shallow-marine Santa Margarita Formation contain locally abundant, giant-sized (several inches tall and wide) barnacle fossils. Identifications as to their genus and species have been inconsistent (Cote, 1991:p.158). Detailed study is needed to resolve their exact generic identification. In one of my previous blog posts (Nov. 11, 2017), I briefly mentioned these large barnacles and photographed the same cluster of specimens that is also used in this current blog post.
Some specimens of this large (several inches tall and wide) barnacle genus/species have, in a few cases, been misidentified as fragments of mammoth bone or even as rudistid bivalves (note: these particular bivalves went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous).
Top view of an individual specimen of Tamiosoma gregaria Conrad, from the Santa Margarita Formation, Coalinga area.
Side view of the same specimen.
Basal view of the same specimen.
REFERENCE CITED
Cote, Russel. 1991. Paleontology of the Santa Margarita Formation. California State University, Northridge. This master’s thesis is available for free online.
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